Thanks for the memoriesOn Oct. 15, Scott Smith, then 39, father of three and owner of SKB Insurance, did not know his name or the name of the stranger in the hospital room who seemed important. That stranger was his wife, Kim, of 13 years. Three days earlier, the two were conversing as they prepared for dinner when he collapsed and suffered a seizure-like attack. When he began to regain consciousness two hospitals later, his mind was like a computer hard drive that ...

Medicaid impasse threatens budgetLITTLE ROCK — It’s a popular refrain for Democrats and Republicans alike in Arkansas, especially as they gear up for campaign season: We’re not Washington. We’re different. They may need to rethink that line. Less than a year after Arkansas adopted a first-in-the-nation plan to provide subsidized health coverage to the poor using Medicaid funds, the program’s future remains in limbo after a string of failed votes in the state House. It’s an im...

Eating disorder gives false sense of power, controlMy granddaughter, Olivia Gardner, who is a junior at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., was first diagnosed in 2005 with an eating disorder. A graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock, she wrote an essay about her recovery two years ago and I included it in this column. Here is an update from her. “I noticed I was different when I was about 8 years old. I was smaller than my classmates, and I got a lot of attention for it. My da...

I'm not watching the OlympicsThis is not exactly a newsflash in my house, where, before he left for college, my son had to teach me how to turn on the TV. The thing is, I really don't want to watch the Olympics, even though I spent many of my happier childhood hours watching figure skating on the black-and-white. It's not the athletes' fault. They are doing their best, given everything. But this Olympics, for all the wrong but obvious reasons, seems to be more about the p...

High-tech semper fi across the countryIf you have ever been caught speeding by a police radar unit, you will love this story a friend sent to me a while back. I am not sure whether or not it’s true, but I suspect that it is. It has been many a moon since I have had a speeding ticket, and the cost of the tickets has increased exponentially. The image I have in my mind for getting a ticket of any kind is taking a hundred-dollar bill and setting it on fire, plus an increase in my aut...

Just say no, or try to reformBetween when I wrote this and when you read it, the Legislature may have come to a conclusion on the private option. It doesn’t look that way, but lots can change in a day. Regardless, the debate will continue. Here’s the background. The private option uses Obamacare-targeted dollars intended to enroll people in Medicaid and instead subsidizes the cost of private insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s health care exchanges. It serves Arka...

Hillary Clinton is too old for what?The esteemed political writer Charlie Cook recently produced a column titled "Is Hillary Clinton Too Old to Run?" Despite couching his thoughts with a mention that if Clinton were to run, she would be the same age as Ronald Reagan when he was first elected president, 69, he did venture over the sexism line. The giveaway came toward the end when Cook noted that Clinton could be challenged for the nomination by Vice President Joe Biden, without ...

How about Cruz control?Freshman Senator Ted Cruz says many things that need to be said and says them well. Moreover, some of these things are what many, if not most, Americans believe wholeheartedly. Yet we need to remember that the same was true of another freshman Senator, just a relatively few years ago, who parlayed his ability to say things that resonated with the voters into two terms in the White House. Who would disagree that if you want your doctor, you sho...

Mike Ross’ wishful tax cut proposalA tax cut plan by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross would be one of the largest middle class tax cuts in Arkansas history, but the likelihood of much of it actually taking effect appears doubtful, at best. The proposal by Ross would expand the size of income tax brackets to lower state income taxes paid by many Arkansans. Brackets would be increased as if inflationary adjustments had been in place since 1971. The relief primarily wo...

Griffin weapon for GOP, target for DemsLITTLE ROCK — By seeking the lieutenant governor’s office, U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin represents a formidable weapon for fellow Republicans in their quest to take over the state’s top elected spots in November. But the two-term congressman also represents an easy target for Democrats as they try to prevent that sweep. With his announcement that he’ll seek the state’s No. 2 office, Griffin upended a race that had been lifeless and suspense-free comp...

County government needs refinementState Rep. Butch Wilkins, D-Jonesboro, reminded his 500-plus Facebook friends over the weekend about the absurdity of Arkansas law’s requirement that county officials stand for election every two years. Because Wilkins is term-limited, he won’t be able to do anything about it, but someone should. Wilkins was referring specifically to Craighead Sheriff Marty Boyd’s announcement for re-election, barely 13 months after taking office. He’s not the...

No-alcohol tailgate partiesHave you ever made a suggestion you felt would be about as welcome as a skunk at a family picnic? Well, that is my chosen task today, and because I feel it is so important to the lives and well-being of many people, I am willing to endure the slings and arrows that will surely come my way. For all the people across our nation who are involved in planning and carrying out “tailgate” parties, I am going to suggest they not include alcohol in the...

Southern hospitality amid storm of controversyThey can make fun of us if they want. Georgians know that grace and generosity are more important than blame. While others may make fun and cast blame, the important stories are not about how weather happens, snow comes and we get caught in traffic jams for hours or how we abandon cars and pick them up a day to two later. The real stories are about strangers handing out food and water, stores and restaurants welcoming those who are stranded, p...

ACA disincentivising work?The Republicans have a bright and shiny new word they're using to bash the Democratic Party in general and Obamacare in particular — Disincentivise. As in Obamacare disincentivises Americans to work. This characteristically disingenuous attack on The Affordable Care Act (ACA) comes from a purposeful misinterpretation of a recent Congressional Budget Office report titled "The budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 and 2024.” About 30 pages out of 17...

The case against Common CoreIt’s a Wednesday evening at a Maumelle community center, and Karen Lamoreaux is explaining to a crowd of parents — I think it’s well over 100, but I’m guessing — why she and the rest of her group are devoting a significant part of their lives to fighting the Common Core State Standards. That’s the new set of frameworks guiding how students in 45 states are being educated in math and in English language arts. Originally, it was an initiative of...

The cost of doing nothingThe biggest decision facing the Arkansas Legislature in its short fiscal session that began this week is whether to continue funding Arkansas’ private option, which uses federal Medicaid funds to expand health insurance for Arkansans, but through private health insurances plans. My position has been unwavering: The innovative plan should be continued as lawmakers consider necessary improvements along the way. However, lawmakers could choose to...

Random thoughts on the passing sceneIt is amazing how many people still fall for the argument that, if life is unfair, the answer is to turn more money and power over to politicians. Since life has always been unfair, for thousands of years and in countries around the world, where does that lead us? I am so old that I can remember when sex was private. ”Don’t ask, don’t tell” applied to everybody. However fascinated the U.S. Supreme Court may be with the concept of ”diversity,” ...

State’s constitutional ‘crisis’ bubbles overIn a bloodless coup the leader of the Arkansas Senate occupied the office of the lieutenant governor last week, just in time for the fiscal session of the General Assembly, which started Monday at the state Capitol. Although most of us thought that the future of the “private option” health care plan would be the major item of business for our lawmakers, we apparently have a constitutional crisis to resolve. Sen. Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellvil...

Ross, Hutchinson focus on tax plansLITTLE ROCK — With a tax cut plan that’s long on ambition but short a specific timetable, Mike Ross is trying to follow the same script that ended with fellow Democrat Mike Beebe winning the Arkansas governor’s race eight years ago. Republican rival Asa Hutchinson is just as eager to flip the script and avoid the same fate he suffered at Beebe’s hands in that race. Early in their campaigns for governor, the two former congressmen are focusing ...

Think regionally, like Northwest ArkansasNorthwest Arkansas became the most prosperous part of the state thanks to its being home to some of the world’s best businessmen and Arkansas’ biggest university. Now one of the reasons it’s becoming even more prosperous is because it thinks regionally, not just locally. Further evidence for how well that part of the state is doing came last week. The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that includes Washington, Benton and Madison counties alo...